Democrat South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg to Run for President

Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced Wednesday that he is forming an exploratory committee to run for President of the United States.

Buttigieg is only 37 years old, and has never held statewide office, let alone federal office, losing a race for state treasurer in 2010. He also dropped out of the 2017 race for chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

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However, he is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, thanks to his sterling résumé and the fact that he is openly gay, having married his husband last year. He is seen as part of his party’s “progressive” wing and has attracted interest from young activists and Silicon Valley donors.

Buttigieg graduated from Harvard University, and from Oxford University in the UK as a Rhodes Scholar. He joined the U.S. Navy Reserve and deployed to Afghanistan as an intelligence officer. He is still in the Navy Reserve.